Drive
We have made our share of road trips, believe me.
We’ve driven north, south, west and, most definitely, east…referring to the thirty-seven hour drive to the outer banks some seven and a half years back. Which just so happened to mark the last time we decided to load up whatever vehicle we could cram everything into and assault the highways. And which also happens to be the author of the slight tick you’ll notice I produce when the memory is excavated. After that jaunt we decided, like it or not, the other passengers would tolerate the children’s antics, and so graduated to air travel. Which I adore.
But which costs an arm and a leg these days.
So, the trip down south this Christmas peered down its nose at us and defied the thought of any skies being friendly, or affordable, and found us, after a long hiatus, cramming everything into the beloved SUV and getting miles behind us.
The Road Trip has evolved into an entirely different animal while dormant these seven years. With the advent of all things electronic, each child had their preferred mode of entertainment and Cute Redhead and I had our much-desired Quiet.
So the trip progressed with a lot less Stop Touching Me! than its predecessors, thank the Lord.
A few notes:
We notice it does not matter where Recalcitrant Teenager sleeps as long as he gets to sleep.
So let him sleep.
And any hotel room is an amusement park for kids until mom and dad enforce the curfew, turn off the television and negotiate who-sleeps-where. Then it’s a prison. Until it’s time to get going the next morning, before dawn, and they’d sell their little souls to keep sleeping.
I thought this was hilarious. We had our minds set on none of the typical fast food breaks for the duration of the drive. So, remembering the Chipotle app on the beloved iPhone, I pressed the Current Location button to find out just how close the nearest favored restaurant was. If you’re wondering how many west Texas boasts, there’s your answer.
And this one one more time with a little background:
Cute Redhead was driving while I had work to do. You’ll notice the location of her iron-grip on the wheel, securely at ‘ten’ and ‘two.’
What you don’t see in the photo is when it was me driving later that night through a part of Texas recently bestowed with more snow than it knew what to do with. Which is code for: any snow. And while I drove with not a little boredom through The End Of The World (read: Texans, and we love you, do not know how to drive in snow. Um. At all.)
So there I was, one hand casually over the top of the wheel, the other holding my head as I leaned against the window trying not to yawn (I wasn’t tired…I was bored) while going
(brace yourselves)
ten miles an hour.
It was hilarious. Sure Texas has no category for this. I mean, I get it. But in Colorado, when it snows that much, it doesn’t even show up on our radar. But that didn’t stop Cute Redhead (who was certain we were all going to die) from reaching over
While. I. Was. Going. Ten. Miles. Per. Hour.
and switching the vehicle into 4-wheel drive.
I would have been completely offended had I not been laughing so hard. At her.
Or at the woman I passed who, God love her, was going (I am not making this up) eight miles per hour with her (not making this up) hazard lights on and (as God is my witness, I am not making this up either) praying.
lol it’s snow, honey, not Armageddon.
There were other parts of the trip possibly worth noting, but nothing out of the extraordinary, truth me told.
And, besides, when you deliver your kids to a farm with places like this to explore…
..what’s there to complain about?
Nothing.
lolol… she reached over and turned on the 4WD… while YOU were driving… OMG.
lol I know. I was just driving along the cattle trail…like it was one of those totally guided amusement park car rides, right? No where to go, no hope for any fun. Then I notice what she did and I was all, “…wait…lol WHAT did you just—are you kidding me?!” I couldn’t stop laughing.
I am willing to wager that the 8 MPH, praying woman was in a Prius, or a Probe, or a KIA. The tree-hugger’s sanctimonious distain for the SUV is quickly replaced with envy as soon as the first flake falls from the sky. You live where there is snow, you need the right tools. Whiners. Viva la fossil fuels!! Oh wait was that French? They are whiners too! Anyone else? Come on, bring it!
She was at the wheel, John, of a Honda CRV. More than enough vehicle to make easy work of the weather.
Ok…sorry…never mind…please forgive my outburst. But I do feel way better for having unloaded my basket, albeit on this obviously lovely, kind, yet cautious, God fearing woman. I should probably not watch network news out of DC. Good thing I dont have a cat. Is it still ok to dispise the French though?
As long as you leave their cooking alone, yes, you may despise to your heart’s content.